Pro-Kremlin militants ordered a suspension of all flights in or out of Crimea's main airport in Simferopol except those connecting to Moscow, an AFP reporter on the scene said.
Militants have taken over air traffic control at the airport and a flight that took off from Kiev today was forced to turn back to the capital after being refused permission to land.
A militia member, Ivan, who declined to give his surname, told AFP: “Air traffic control has been taken over, as well as the runway''.
He said the move was aimed at preventing activists from Kiev from coming to Crimea.
Ukraine International Airlines said on its website that flights between Kiev and Simferopol today and tomorrow had been cancelled “due to airspace restrictions.’’